Many of us are on the spiritual path, seeking the Light, searching
for Truth. Christ said: "The truth shall make you free."
Max Heindel said truth is not found once and forever. Truth is
eternal and the quest for truth must also be eternal. There is
no faith once and for all time delivered. There are certain basic
truths which abide but which may be considered from many sides,
each giving a different view which complements the previous perceptions.
Therefore, so far as we can see at present, there is no likelihood
that we will know the whole and ultimate truth and be able to
rest from our quest. Truth, like God, is universal and infinite.
It knows no boundaries. But when the Virgin Spirits of the human
life wave became enveloped in "veils" of individual
vehicles, dissociated from the Cosmic All, they became incapable
of directly understanding and experiencing absolute truth. But
even with this separation, man has not altogether forgotten his
true home.
Man has always been in quest of knowledge in the physical world
and ever seeking to determine who he really is. The path to first-hand
knowledge is not easy. Nothing worth having ever comes without
persistent effort. All that anyone is or has is the result of
effort. What one lacks in comparison with another is latent in
himself and capable of development by proper methods.
To know truth, we must desire it with intensity. Heindel relates
the story of the young man who came to the sage and asked: "Sir,
what must I do to become wise?" The sage did not answer.
The youth kept repeating the question, with the same result. At
last he left the sage but returned the next day with the same
question. Again no answer was forthcoming so the youth returned
on the third day to ask his question yet again. Finally the sage
took him to a river and held him under the water, despite his
struggle to free himself. At last, the sage released him and when
the youth had regained his breath, the sage asked him: "Son,
when you were under the water, what did you most desire?"
"Air, air, sir, I wanted air." "Would you not rather
have had riches, pleasure, power or love my son? Did you not think
of any of these?" "No sir, only air, I thought only
of air." Then said the sage, "To become wise you must
desire wisdom with as great intensity as you just now desired
air. You must struggle for it to the exclusion of every other
aim in life. If you seek wisdom with that fervor, my son, you
will surely become wise."
We must allow no obstacle to thwart our search for truth. But
the supreme motive for seeking this knowledge must be an ardent
desire to benefit humanity, entirely disregarding self in order
to work for others. In the Western Wisdom Teachings we are taught
about rebirth-that we come back to life on the earth plane many
times in order to learn the lessons needed to evolve in consciousness.
When considering the fact of rebirth, many students wonder why
the memory of former lives is blotted out and they are filled
with an almost overpowering desire to know the past.
Max Heindel tells us that there is a most beneficial purpose for
this forgetfulness. No experience in life is of value unless its
imprint on the soul is retained for purgatorial and heavenly post-mortem
instruction and assimilation. This impression is used in subsequent
lives, at the appropriate time, to direct, warn, or urge a certain
course of action, prompting with a quickness greater than that
of brain-mediated thought. This inner voice is what we call intuition.
When situations arise which are similar to the one caused by the
original impression, the vibration is intuited by the soul. It
awakens the memory-extract of pain or pleasure from the record
of the past life, more rapidly and accurately than if the experience
itself were called up before the mind's eye. At the present time
we might not be able to see the experience in its true light because
we are hampered by the veil of flesh. The lives we have led are
hidden from us until we know how to unlock the door; until we
lift the veil of illusion.
Lifting the veils of illusion means being able to remember who
we are and what our higher purpose is. It is going beyond the
illusion created by living in the dense opacity of matter and
remembering the truth of the higher realms. It is knowing that
our higher consciousness is our primary, causal reality. It is
learning to see the world through the eyes of our higher self,
being able to discriminate between what is true and what is illusory.
Being able to identify and comprehend reality and truth is a function
of our spiritual vibration. The more attuned we are to higher,
subtler influences, the better able we are to correctly see ourselves
and to regard others with compassion. At the unregenerate level,
revenge is one way to handle the feeling of being wronged. Revenge
would be that person's "truth." At a higher level, an
individual understands the operation of the law of cause and effect
and knows the value and virtue of sending love to one who has
wronged him or her. As we harmoniously vibrate to ever wider spheres
of existence, our grasp of truth will proportionally increase
and the veils of illusion will disappear.
Illusion promises to give us one thing but actually gives us something
else. We have experienced this when we have received something
we wanted but it failed to deliver what we thought it would.
For example: a woman may think all her problems with her husband
will be solved by having a baby. After having one, she realizes
that the baby brought her much joy but didn't solve the problems
with her husband. Some people think that material wealth will
solve their problems. They often learn that as they accumulate
money their problems increase unless they work directly on solving
them. They realize that money cannot give them inner peace, solve
their relationship difficulties, or give them a sense of security.
They must work directly on those issues rather than succumb to
the false promises offered by substitution therapy.
How might our life change if all our illusions were gone and we
knew higher truth? We would choose those things that fulfilled
us and best represented who we are. We would be able to accurately
assess situations and know what actions to take to produce the
result we want. We could recognize the level of people's understanding
and development. We would be able to distinguish between appearances
and the underlying reality in people and situations. We would
not presumptively believe what we were told, and we would know
what was true for us. We would stand by our beliefs, even if others
around us believed differently. We would have a clear vision of
our purpose and know what actions to take to accomplish it. We
would see beyond people's personalities to their higher selves.
We would not let self-doubt or thoughts of worthlessness deflect
us from our path. Believing in ourself and our path, we would
have greater strength and courage to carry out our work.
When we were young, some of us may not have wanted to see our
life and person as it was and therefore slowly contracted our
vision. Some literally abused their healthy vision and had to
wear glasses to restore it. Now older, we can affirm that we
are ready to see the world clearly. Many people find their eyesight
improves when they become willing to see the world as it really
is and begin lifting the veils of illusion. We must let go of
our judgments if we would see other than illusions. By judgment
we mean the purely subjective reading of an objective text.
We must learn to observe without projecting our thoughts onto
others, imagining or making up stories about what is happening.
How much do we color what we perceive with our judgments, projections
or interpretations? If we practice describing things to ourselves
just as they are we will see beyond the illusions created by the
thoughts and feelings in back of our perceptions. To understand
how we project our feelings about things onto other people, we
may select an individual and focus on them, mentally describing
them to ourself. If we are strictly honest, we will gradually
observe the extent to which much of our world view and personal
feelings are projected onto others.
When we judge others, we are usually simply projecting our own
self-image and perceptions onto them. One who has not taken an
exhaustive self-inventory is a poor character witness. For instance,
we see people yelling at their children in a store and think they
are bad parents. Instead they may be tired, under pressure, or
doing just what is needed for their children at that moment. Sending
them love will do more to help them (and ourselves!) than our
negative judgment. As we practice non-judgment and learn to see
people through the eyes of compassion, we will increasingly understand
their motivations and have no need to judge them, for judgment
is a response to unacknowledged fear and self-doubt.
We best serve evolution and ourselves by finding what is beautiful
in each person we encounter and by sending light and love to him
or her though our eyes, mind, and heart. We cannot serve people
when we separate ourselves from them by judging them. Our higher
Self and Christ, our Teacher, do not judge us. They send us an
unremitting stream of love, illuminating and encouraging in us
what is beautiful and good. This empowers us to be all we can
be. We may have illusions about who people are because of our
attachment to them. We may tend to stress how people might fulfill
more of their potential. We may not want to accept the temporary
person they are manifesting right now. Although it is good to
hold a high vision of people, it is also important to see them
clearly and love them for who they are at the present moment.
We must focus on the strength of others rather than on their weakness.
We can always acknowledge their divinity, irrespective of appearances.
When we look only at the surface of something, we actually devalue
our own person. It would be unthinkable for us to buy a house
based solely on its exterior appearance, without examining its
interior. In the case of human beings, they are virtually all
interior.
Great masters have no trouble walking unrecognized among us. Humility
and discretion enable them to assume the appearance of ordinary
persons. They do not call attention to themselves by a singular
manner of dress, word, or attitude and thus we may rarely recognize
them. Christ was not recognized by His own people. We must learn
to see people with the eyes of the soul and look beyond their
outward person. As we do, we can see the reality of their higher
selves. We learn to relate their activities and traits to the
higher purpose they are serving, however they may appear in the
isolated view.
For instance, someone whose job is typing may be using that activity
to learn how to connect his mind with his hands. Carpenters may
be learning how to bring their own vision and that of others
from the abstract mental plane into physical reality. Think of
a friend and their job. See if you can find a deeper meaning for
them in what they are doing. We cannot tell who people are from
their earthly activities.
It is an illusion to think that if we are spiritually evolved
we must be famous or highly visible as a spiritual leader. Many
high beings live alone, working on the inner planes by radiating
peace and by responding to calls for guidance from awakening souls.
Many have quiet positions of service as gardeners, teachers of
children, or caretakers. Only a few high beings volunteer to be
conspicuous as spiritual leaders.
Public consensus about what is true does not thereby make the
matter true. Numbers are not a valid criterion for determining
truth. Entire populations have held erroneous opinions about reality.
At one time it was thought that the sun revolved around the earth.
But a few individuals changed the course of history and individual
consciousness by questioning such mass beliefs and having the
courage to explore and advance their new theories.
We must learn to go beyond what is commonly held to be true and
discover our own truth. Max Heindel investigated the inner planes
and gave forth wonderful teachings. But he was emphatic in directing
us to investigate for ourselves. We must confirm and enlarge upon
these truths independently, enlisting the wisdom of our inner
tribunal.
Through enlightened ideas about the rights of all sentient life,
diet and healing, peace, ecology and other issues, we are bringing
a higher truth, a more holistic consciousness, to the earth plane.
We must follow our hearts and minds and believe in the divine
origin of our inner truth. As we discover and practice what is
true for us, we will, by our example, assist others in finding
their higher truths.
Integrity is an important aspect of spiritual growth. It is acting,
talking, and behaving in ways that honor ourselves and others.
It is examining things before we do them and, insofar as possible,
doing only those things that we believe to be true. Living in
integrity, in harmony with our beliefs and values, will accelerate
our growth. It will bring clarity and order to every area of our
life.
We must examine the opportunities that come our way and choose
to take them not because they seem glamorous or may be materially
rewarding, but because they make a contribution to human well-being.
We may be challenged to come from our heart with people, rather
than from our will. To follow our heart is to find a higher truth.
We can find a higher truth by focusing on serving others.
We shall see more clearly when we willingly live the life where
we have been placed, for the Recording Angels make no mistakes.
They place us where we may encounter needed lessons that will
prepare us for a greater sphere of usefulness. When the spirit
has found truth and has come in contact with divine realities;
when it has entered the region of abstract thought, which is the
third heaven, and has seen that one great verity-that all things
are one and that though they may seem separate here, there is
an invisible thread uniting each with all-when the spirit has
thus regained universality and love, it cannot believe in the
illusion of separation any longer.
Ultimately, we will see things as they are, we will behold all
creation — animals, angels, plants, and all the ranks of humankind — in
their true being and order. We will feel better
fitted to serve in the Vineyard of Christ and take as our own
the words of Thomas Paine: "The world is my country, to do
good is my religion." For only by service and unselfish love
will we grow to the stature of Christ.
— Angela Ponce de Leon
— Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, March/April, 1996
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